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The Portuguese midfielder came to the rescue for Portugal with a injury-time winner in their World Cup qualifying encounter against Ireland, following the Irish goalkeeper had denied a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Game Summary

The Wolves midfielder found the net during added time to secure a slender win, four years after the star striker had bagged a brace at the death to defeat a stubborn Irish side.

The Irish squad appeared poised to depart the Portuguese capital with a well-earned point, but ultimately suffered defeat, despite restoring a good deal of pride with a gritty display that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s embarrassing loss in Armenia.

However, the defeat puts them in a difficult position, with their initial trio of Group F matches having produced only a single point. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any chance of claiming a qualifying spot.

Major Moments

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have earned Ireland a point when he brilliantly saved Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s effort had hit Dara O’Shea’s hand.
• Neves came to his side’s rescue in the opening moments of stoppage time when he directed Trincão’s cross past Kelleher.

Other Qualifying Outcomes

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team boosted their hopes of qualifying by securing their first win with a two-goal triumph over Armenia, climbing above their rivals into second place behind Portugal in the standings. Daniel Lukacs gave Hungary the advantage in the first half and a teammate secured the points in second-half stoppage time.

England’s Group

Serbia slipped to a narrow defeat at home to Albania, with the outcome meaning the Three Lions can now secure their passage from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj netted the only goal for Albania with a well-taken shot in late added time.

The Latvian side difficulties in their group persisted as they were forced to a 2-2 tie at home by the Andorran team. An Andorran player found the net for the visitors 12 minutes from time to earn them their initial draw of the qualifiers and prolong Latvia’s winless run to five games.

Spain’s Group

Spain continued their impressive qualifying group campaign with a 2-0 win over the Georgian side after goals from a Spanish attacker and his teammate in Elche. The win extended the European champions’ perfect record in qualifying, having scored 11 goals in three games without conceding.

In spite of the unavailability of players such as a talented winger, another forward, and Rodri due to injuries, Luis de la Fuente’s side showcased their dominance against a Georgia team that spent the majority of the game sitting back. The home side dominated the match with over eighty percent of the ball, and Georgia did not have a single attempt on target or create a scoring opportunity, with only shot-stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili preventing a rout.

The scorer opened the scoring in the 24th minute from a expertly taken dead-ball routine, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the victory in the 64th minute with a stunning set-piece after the Georgian keeper had denied Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Other Scores

• The Turkish national team returned to winning ways with a comprehensive thrashing over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on Spain in their section. Real Madrid’s a young talent was one of the scorers.
• The Italian squad boosted their hopes of at least making the knockout stage with a 3-1 victory away to the Estonian team, thanks to strikes from a forward, Mateo Retegui, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

The Italian coach said: “Our focus isn’t on Norway or Israel. We are aware of our responsibilities.”

Italy missed out for the previous two World Cups, on two occasions falling short in the playoffs, and the dreaded playoff path now appears their primary opportunity after Norway’s 5-0 hammering over Israel in their qualifying group. The Norwegians are top on eighteen points from six matches. Italy have twelve points with a match less played on their competitors and are three points clear of their next opponents. The Estonian squad stay in fourth place on three points. The group winners qualify directly for the World Cup, with the runners-up entering the qualifying stage.

Italy host Israel on Tuesday, where a victory would secure the runner-up position and, while they can still theoretically overtake the group leaders on the table, the leaders’ much better goal ratio means a playoff spot probably awaits for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.